FX Action: The dollar ticked a bit higher FX Action: The dollar ticked a bit higher, despite the miss in manufacturing PMI and construction spending data, resulting in USD-JPY moving to N.Y. session highs of 119.89, and EUR-USD easing a few points to N.Y. session lows of 1.1208. Wall Street has held its gains, while yields moved off their best levels.

Euro$ interest rate options: some bearish positioning Euro$ interest rate options: some bearish positioning to start took the form of a 5k purchase of Front June 95/96 put 1x2s, in line with the mildly weaker tone on the underlying rate futures. The lead June 2015s are a half-tick higher near 99.63, while the deferreds are 0.5-1.0 ticks lower out the curve.

U.S. corporate bond update: the new issue calendar is coming in like a lion U.S. corporate bond update: the new issue calendar is coming in like a lion to start the month of March and that's weighing on nominal Treasuries. Topping the list is a mammoth 9-part offering from Actavis, reportedly for $22 B, to include 18-month FRN, 2-year, 3-year fixed and FRN, along with 5-, 7-, 10-, 20-, and 30-yeaer maturities, as it looks to finance its $49 B purchase of Allergan. Meanwhile, on tap today is a $1 B 18-month issue from KfW. Council of Europe Development Bank has a $1 B 5-year. There is a 2-tranche deal (benchmark size) from MetLife. EIB is auctioning a benchmark 3-year global. Discover Financial plans a $500 M 10-year. Mitsubishi UFJ launched a $500 M 5-year note. Last month there were 86 issuers who priced $135 B in paper, versus $132 B in January, and $117.7 B in February 2014.